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Defining and articulating your vision, mission and values

It’s all about ‘the big picture’. Visualising and articulating what it is that your institution exists to achieve (its ‘mission’) and what defines its character and ethos (its ‘values’).

Archived
This content was archived in November 2014

About this guide

  • Published: 5 September 2012
  • Updated: 8 November 2012

View full guide as a single page

Contents

Defining and articulating your vision, mission and values
  • The importance of concepts over terminology
  • What is a mission statement?
    • The characteristics of a good mission statement
    • How to identify and agree your mission statement
  • What is a vision statement?
    • Why do you need a vision statement?
    • What makes a good vision statement?
    • How far ahead should you look?
    • How to identify your vision?
  • The value of values
    • Defining your values
  • Consultation
  • Making your strategies work for you

This guide is designed to help ensure the main strategic ‘building blocks’ common to most institutions are fit for purpose.  It’s all about ‘the big picture’. Visualising and articulating what it is that your institution exists to achieve (its ‘mission’) and what defines its character and ethos (its ‘values’). But it is not just about describing the here and now. It  also represents your opportunity to look to the future, to define your aspirations and to describe the type of organisation you wish to become (its ‘vision’).

There is often a careful balancing act to be performed. Lofty statements of idealism may encourage a certain (perhaps justified) cynicism about the process, but at the same time it is important to aspire and inspire and to create a shared image of what your institution stands for and where it wants to be. By doing so you avoid wasting time and resources by pulling in a dozen different, perhaps even contradictory, directions and pursuing unnecessary courses of action.

Recognising and resolving these tensions are an inherent element for success and will depend not only on the appropriateness of the statements agreed upon but, equally crucially, how they are arrived at in the first place and how they are communicated to the institution as a whole. All of these are topics addressed during this guide, part of our Increasing strategic effectiveness suite of resources.

"There was a clear consensus that mission, vision and values were clearly defined in the infoKit. There was also consensus that the process was clear and in the correct order."
Rohan Slaughter, Head of Technology, Beaumont College

  • The importance of concepts over terminology
  • What is a mission statement?
  • What is a vision statement?
  • The value of values
  • Consultation
  • Making your strategies work for you

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